I've had the privilege of studying classical guitar under Yuri for the past seven months. Whether you're just beginning your classical guitar journey or are a lifelong professional, working with Yuri will make you a better player. When I approached Yuri back in January, my confidence in my abilities was low. I had taken lessons and taught myself for many years, but took many extended breaks, sometimes for years. As a young man, I had labored through some difficult repertoire, but now, I was unable to play a single piece of music. The ideal solution would be to find a teacher who could assess my abilities, determine a good starting point, and develop a plan to help me achieve my potential. I signed up with Yuri and he has delivered incredibly well. Yuri is a world class virtuoso, but as a teacher, he is even more. He possesses the ability to laser in, diagnose, and solve even the most challenging technical issues. Musically, he helps me understand the character of a piece, and works with me to build a detailed and accurate interpretation. When I exhibited gaps in my ability, he taught me not to feel ashamed about revisiting basic techniques, and skillfully helped me address these. Owing to Yuri's extreme attention to detail, his playing is virtually effortless; he has taken great pains to impart these principles, so that my own playing continues to become less and less tense. Yuri delivers feedback well: he gives praise when I've executed something particularly well, and brings attention to areas of improvement in a way that is motivating. The progression from week to week and month to month has been well thought out, making me confident that the future will be even better. Studying under Yuri has been one of the best decisions I've made within the past couple years. read more

I have been taking lessons with Yuri for almost one year and I'm so happy with the progress! I'm an intermediate player but I feel I'm stuck at a plateau for quite a long time. Yuri helps to correct many technical errors and is very detailed in music expression. It's just amazing that Yuri can tell if I'm relaxed just by listening to my tone! Now not only can I play more relaxed and faster, but most importantly I enjoy playing than before. Highly recommend Yuri to anyone who wants to learn the classical guitar seriously! read more

I have been taking classes from Mr. Yuri for around 4 years now and he is by far one of the most patient, kind, and talented teachers I've ever been around. Mr. Yuri has helped me in ways I cannot even imagine from improving my tone, posture, fingering, and speed. He has a way of evoking a personality from each note of music that he plays. Whenever I hear him play, it's like hearing the sound of crystal raindrops on glass. He teaches you how to gain that elusive personality in music, allowing your skills to tremendously improve. As a teacher, Mr. Yuri is someone who genuinely cares about fostering the best possible music from each and every one of his students. He focuses on the small details that allow your music to come to life. He has spent so much time helping to record the music pieces we've studied together, allowing me to improve in the process. There are truly no better words than that of "crystal raindrops on glass" to describe the warmth and personality with which Mr. Yuri plays. He has made it his mission to stir that same quality within each of his students and I couldn't feel more thankful and lucky. Mr. Yuri is the best, most talented guitar teacher you will ever find. read more

Rare indeed, Yuri is the consummate virtuoso who is also a gifted teacher, who loves making and teaching music equally. I have been spellbound and deeply inspired by his concert performances, and he is guiding me through my first year of classical guitar study with kind patience and gentle insistence that I "get it right"--that each note is played musically and with carefully developed technique that brings forth just the right tone. read more

My son has been fortunate to learn to play the classical guitar under Mr. Yuri's guidance for two years. Mr. Yuri is a world-renowned guitarist with many awards and achievements and an amazing teacher. Mr. Yuri takes the effort and time to understand my son and connect with him. He motivates him in so many different ways, be it through playing so beautifully that my son is awed by him playing the guitar or talking to him about his musical journey or inviting him to come to listen to concerts. There are times when my son wishes he could practice guitar for more time, but exams or illness comes in the way. Mr. Yuri is especially understanding and patient during these times and continues to encourage my son. At times, Mr. Yuri will email pieces to my son so that he can practice at home and also asks my son to record his progress and mail him videos of him playing so that Mr. Yuri can correct him on his technique between classes. Mr. Yuri is a constant source of inspiration for my son. My son practices regularly and is eager to learn, improve, and share his progress with Mr. Yuri. Mr. Yuri plays with perfection and holds his students to a high bar and makes an effort to help his students to play at a high level. He praises my son when he plays well, encourages him when he finds a piece to be difficult, and identifies areas and explains in great detail how my son can improve so that he masters every piece. He is a constant source of motivation for my son. My son has improved significantly under Mr. Yuri's guidance and dedication. I highly recommend Mr. Yuri. read more

Yuri has shown me a path outwards of my plateau, both on my guitar playing and musical appreciation, after being self-taught for 20+ years. Some crucial aspects of the guitar, such as how the fingers really work, how to practice, how to interpret and understand the underlying message of a piece, were introduced to me through Yuri's impressive dedication and patience. His ability to find your way of absorbing these concepts and evolving with the instrument and therefore as a person is a gem I'm lucky to have access to. read more

I have been taking lessons with Yuri for about 4 months, it's a happy journey with him. As an adult, I played classical guitar from 2010 to 2012, then stopped. Then this March, I felt like playing again, after lots of research, I think Yuri will be my choice. Yuri goes into every detail about a piece, he arranges the fingering in a proper way for playing. He points out all potential issues and tries to find the solutions. He connects his students, there is a seminar every 2 or 3 weeks, people play and comment, this is really great fun and helps a lot. He also invites professionals to the seminar, so that his students can have comments from different perspective. Another thing I really appreciate, Yuri is flexible. Sometimes I have business trip, or there are conflicts with other schedule, Yuri is very kind to reschedule the lesson. It's lucky for me to have Yuri, maybe he will also be my son's teacher :) read more

I started studying guitar with Yuri with a prior 20+ year experience as a classically trained pianist. I quickly learned that there's a lot in common between guitar and piano, and was humbled to discover that there's much to learn as a beginner on any new instrument. Yuri accommodated his teaching to my existing background and helped me learn to navigate making music on a new instrument, and taught me lifelong skills (e.g. nail shape, good tone, technique, optimal fingerings) that would be helpful to problem-solve issues on my own later on. Yuri's extremely patient, detail oriented, and kind. His encouragement enabled me to learn through a large range of repertoire in a short time. I would highly encourage Yuri to anyone who wants to build a solid musical and technical foundation in classical guitar. Thanks Yuri! read more

Started taking lessons with Teacher Yuri last September 2014. I've been playing the guitar for only a year before I met him and was a strongly left-handed person. I play the guitar with my right hand. Feeling hopeless, I wanted to learn and motivate myself. Even before the productive duration of my lessons, teacher Yuri knew how to help me and he guided me through correct practice and much more effective ways of playing. What I could've learned for years, I think I have learned within a few months. Definitely one of a kind and a must-have teacher for guitar, Teacher Yuri is ranked among the finest classical guitarists around the world and that aside he is also his own unique guitarist - very skillful and passionate in his playing. His knowledge and technique with the guitar, musicality, and very interpretative playing not just inspire students, but also instills discipline, practice, and encouragement that helps students pay attention to their playing and to the improvement of their skills. To have teacher Yuri is to be gifted one of the talents not all people can be blessed to have or experience in life. I am giving my salutation and highest recommendation to this one fine guitarist. " [His] Music is what life sounds like. - Eric Olson" read more

my 5 years old son really enjoy his classical guitar lessons. Yuri is such a talented teacher and Guitarist. He knows how to get along with students in different ages and levels. read more

I'm in my late 20's and have been playing trumpet and sax for two decades now, mostly in structured classical and jazz band settings. A few years ago, my curiosity directed me towards the classical guitar. Over the years, I've found that my self-taught approach and overall technique were holding me back quite significantly. Hence, my search began for a world class guitar instructor. I began lessons with the first teacher that came up on google/yelp in my area (not Yuri). Very nice gentleman, but I was unnerved by the lack of focus on fundamentals and technique in his lessons. It seemed like it was more important to play more songs than to achieve technical excellence. After a month, I sought out another guitar teacher in the area (also not Yuri), but unfortunately recognized the same patterns. When I first saw Yuri's interpretation of Capricho Arabe on YouTube, I was stunned. I did some research and found that he has been playing all his life. He achieved an undergraduate degree from John Hopkins and a master's degree from Yale, both in classical guitar under the direction of some of the best talents on Earth, and both on full scholarships. I reached out to him immediately to set up a consultation session. In all honesty, I was a little bit skeptical before this first session because I have worked with many people that are extraordinary at what they do, but don't have the skills to teach it. Thankfully, this is absolutely not the case with Yuri. From our very first meeting, Yuri explained to me the importance of fundamental technique in my journey as a lifelong guitar learner. Within a few lessons, he completely transformed my posture, the angle of my wrists, the position of my shoulders, the placement of my thumbs, the angle at which I pluck my strings, etc; all things that previous instructors had never seen or talked about much. Suddenly, the added strain and pain that I felt while practicing went away, and the quality of the sound I was producing increased exponentially! I have lessons with Yuri on a weekly basis (for about a year now), and am still amazed at how much improvement I see in my playing every single week. He is patient, exceptionally intelligent, and fully engaged. In any case, if I hadn't started with Yuri when I did, I would have reached a plateau that could only be overcome by re-learning the proper technique. I much prefer to learn things the right way the first time around. All in all, not only is Yuri a world class performer, but he is also a world class instructor with years of invaluable experience and wisdom. If you are like me and hope to play classical guitar for as long as you are able, go to Yuri. You'll see exactly what I'm talking about within the first 5 minutes of your first lesson. read more

I have been studying the classical guitar with Yuri for a year now. Before that I had played the guitar for somewhat 15 years. I must say that for that year I have learnt more than for the previous 15 years. Yuri somehow magically knows exactly what to change in the hand position or in the posture in order to overcome any technical difficulty I was facing. Although, I don't think it is magic, I think it is great amount of work, dedication and experience with the instrument that Yuri has. What makes him an outstanding teacher is that he goes deeply to every detail whether technical or musical. His ability to explain musical ideas in a simple language helps to grow my own musicality. I am really glad I am his student. read more

Yuri is an amazing classical guitar teacher who loves what he is doing and music! You can learn so much from him! Highly recommend him to everyone who is into learning guitar! read more

I highly recommend Yuri as a brilliant teacher who clearly recognises the needs of his students and teaches with the utmost patience and clarity. I am an older adult who is taking up classical guitar for the first time and while I have a strong commitment to this journey, and try to set aside time each day to learn, without Yuri's guidance and direction I would be simply adopting bad habits and fundamentals - as they say "Practice does not make perfect, it simply makes permanent". Yuri has me focused on proper position and bio mechanics to achieve the most relaxed position to produce the best tone. His focus with me early on has been about establishing a rock solid foundation that revolves around the most important element in music - the sound one creates. Additionally one only needs to view and listen to one of his YouTube recordings to see Yuri's talent and effortless mastery of the guitar - truly inspiring to see and even more inspiring to be one of his students. I consider myself quite fortunate to have found Yuri and with his stewardship hope to one day perform for my family and friends and tell them how I learned from a true master. read more

Yuri is an amazing musician and the best guitarist around here. I have been taking lesson from him for more than two years and I think I am lucky to have him as my teacher. read more

Yuri is an outstanding virtuoso-class classical guitarist. He is quite rare: not only is he a highly accomplished artist on his instrument, but he is also a deeply insightful instructor. I have studied with Yuri for approximately one year, and I came to him as an advanced amateur with decades of exposure to the classical repertoire. During my time with Yuri, not only did my technique improve substantially, but I significantly improved my musicianship and interpretive skills as well. Based on this experience, I can say without exaggeration that Yuri is one of the finest classical guitar instructors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I highly recommend Yuri to players of all levels. read more

Yuri is a fantastic teacher, and I strongly recommend him. I've been a musician for 30 years now, but I began my study of classical guitar only a year and a half ago. I've been studying with Yuri for several months and had another guitar teacher before that. And I've had many trombone teachers over the years, so I've seen lots of different teaching styles. Yuri is by far the best of all the music teachers I've had. Here's what I appreciate most about Yuri: - He is an amazing classical guitarist, both technically and musically. When he demonstrates a piece for me, I get to observe a master up close, and enjoy a beautiful performance too. - Yuri is very mindful about his playing, and he strongly encourages me to be mindful too. Instead of emphasizing playing complex pieces end-to-end, he focuses on doing every single thing in the best possible way. He helps optimize every angle of my body to minimize tension and maximize sound quality. Every detail of technique is important to him, because he knows that if I can make these good techniques habit, it will pay off long term. He is constantly encouraging me to slow down so that I can do everything as well as possible. His philosophy (and now mine) is that one should perfect technique at slow speed, and then speed will follow naturally. In the past couple of months with Yuri, I have seen my technique, sound quality, speed, and comfort improve dramatically. When I think back on the time before I studied with him, I feel it was time wasted---I wish I'd started with him from the beginning. - Yuri is invested in his students improving. Many teachers will listen to a student and notice several things needing improvement, but work on only some of them because it would take too much time or effort to address them all. Yuri addresses them all, one by one. - He's great to spend time with: he's patient, kind, soft-spoken and thoughtful. I very strongly recommend you try out a lesson with Yuri. read more

Yuri is the greatest teacher. He started teaching my oldest son when he turned 5 while he was still in school at Yale. He had the patience and understanding of how to teach a young child. He continued to teach my both of my sons while in New Haven. Yuri is an amazing guitar player which does not always make for a great teacher, but Yuri has both. His love for music and the guitar comes through with his teaching. Both of my sons and myself enjoyed our lessons with Yuri. We continue lessons with guidance from Yuri even though he is far away. He still keeps in touch despite being miles away. I would recommend Yuri to anyone as a teacher, guitarist and friend. read more

My son started taking guitar lessons from Yuri when he was 5 years old and he is left handed. Yuri took serious consideration and assessment of weather my son should play as left handed or right handed. Once Yuri was sure what is the best way to go, there was no problem at all for Yuri to adjust and teach my son as left handed. It takes incredible amount of patience to teach 5 year old to play the guitar *successfully*, and Yuri is the most patient teacher I met. Yuri's pleasant and calm attitude makes my son want to learn and play more. Now after more than three years of taking lessons with Yuri, we are amazed how much progress my son made. With Yuri's teaching this year my son won National Gold Medal from Royal Conservatory of Music, which means that this year he performed the best of all kids across the entire United States at his level. In addition, my son's playing was evaluated with superior mark by several guitar professors from San Francisco Conservatory of Music at South Bay Guitar Society. This just shows what level of teaching Yuri provides - it is the first class with the highest honors and recognized by world known institutions. My son was not the only one, there were several other Yuri's students with much higher level of playing and accomplishments, winning the first places at the music competitions all with Yuri's guidance and teaching. If the kid is motivated to learn, with dedicated practice, (s)he will thrive with Yuri and be recognized by world class institutions. As every person has their own way of learning, Yuri approaches every person uniquely and adjusts his way of teaching accordingly. There is no single book or one manual on how to teach everybody and succeed in it. It takes a lifelong experience of playing, learning and knowing how and what to fix at what time, and when is a good time to introduce something new. Yuri, excellent guitarist himself and learning from the best teachers himself, knows exactly when and how to fix the problems, and when and how to move forward at what pace. If Yuri sees that something needs to be fixed, he will find some additional interesting music, apart from the recommended books, knowing from his own experience that this will help to motivate and improve needed skills. With Yuri everybody will have their own unique journey through the world of music, and they will not be bored, which is so important and hard to find in a teacher, especially for the young kids. Yuri is a very known, accomplished performer and artist himself, so if you sit and listen as a parent during your kid's lesson, you will be awarded with unique experiences hearing duets (your kid and Yuri) where Yuri will add/modify something to make the music sound more beautiful, which is not written anywhere, but only someone with profound sense of music can do it, and you will be happy to witness musical "magic" happening. At Yuri's concerts, when he performs, be ready to feel this unique musical magic happening again. With this said, I highly recommend Yuri as a teacher and artistic performer. read more

My son has been taking guitar lessons from Yuri for a little over two years, since he was 9. Before we found Yuri, he was taking some basic guitar lessons (nylon strings, using a pick), which he really was not enjoying much. Yuri adjusts to each students ability and goals, picking material from a variety of sources once you get through the basic Suzuki book. It didn't take my son long to start loving the classical guitar. Under Yuri's tutelage, my son has improved way beyond my expectations and he is now working on some pretty impressive pieces. Not to take anything away from my son's hard work, but it all begins with a great, committed teacher. Yuri is an *amazing* guitarist and he often performs in various venues around Bay Area and across the country. read more

I would strongly recommend taking classes from Yuri whether you are at a beginner, intermediate or advanced level. Besides being a very good guitar teacher, Yuri is an amazing guitarist. I've been taking classes with Yuri for a few months and already he has significantly improved my style of playing. He is attentive to details and pays a lot of attention to the form of play. He is very technically and musically knowledgeable but won't bore you if that's not you thing; although will provide you with details when you ask for it. I've tried taking classes from other instructors and Yuri's style definitely stands out. His classes, although time demanding, are very relaxing and provide a great way to relieve stress for me. Whether for kids or adults, this is a great way to exercise your mind and relax from everyday life stress. read more

I'm an adult who started studying with Yuri about 6 months ago. I was impressed with Yuri's youtube videos, and came to him as a more-or-less beginner after months of being unhappy with the way my playing sounded. I can't believe the difference after just a few months. Yuri is an accomplished musician and always has great suggestions for improving my tone and technique. He also picks interesting and enjoyable pieces, and changes them at a pace that keeps things moving. I highly recommend Yuri. read more

My 8 year old has been taking lessons from Mr. Yuri Liberzon for the last 1.5 years. He is a very sincere, dedicated and responsible teacher. He takes genuine interest in teaching. His style is very methodical. He focuses on getting the basics right. He encourages the student without putting any stress on them. Mr. Yuri himself is an amazing guitarist. Our family has enjoyed watching some his concerts. One would be extremely lucky to have him as a teacher! read more

I have been studying classical guitar with Maestro Yuri Liberzon for 4 months and can tell you all that I am impressed with his profesionalism, knowledge, and music. He is always on time and prepared with all his materials to teach a lesson, and his studio is organized, clean and a comfortable place to be. Maestro Yuri is an amazing sight-reader. He is able to play difficult pieces by sight reading them, and right after; once he gets the character of the music, he starts giving different fingering posibilities. Also he is not only a very patient, and knowledgable classical guitar teacher but an amazing concert artists: his interpretations on both of his CD's "Ascension" and "Acentuando" are an unquestionable proof of his great artistry. I highly recommend you buy his recordings and listen to them! I think, we, people from the Bay Area, are very lucky to have a world-class fine guitarrist currently teaching locally. I am very thankful for having this opportunity in my life because now I am starting to play music, not just notes on the guitar. read more

Yuri is an amazing guitarist and a fabulous teacher! Mr. Liberzon has helped me improve with his inspiration and knowledge. I am very happy that he is my teacher. Without him my playing would not be anywhere close to what it is now. read more

I started playing the guitar at age five and was taught by the same instructor until I was eleven. My parents and I then decided it was time that I found a teacher who specialized in classical guitar as my previous teacher had not. We met Yuri while he was studying at the Yale Music School. For my first lesson I played a piece I thought I had perfected with my previous teacher. After a few measures Yuri stopped me and immediately began correcting my flawed fingering and incorrect posture. It was then that I realized that, while I had been playing the guitar for six years, I still had a lot to learn. Yuri is extremely knowledgeable about playing techniques and musicality, among many other things. I am now seventeen and after six years of lessons with Yuri I have come to value his extreme respect for music and for me as an amateur musician. Instead of simply telling me to hold my hand this way or to play this measure louder, he offers his reasoning so I can understand his advice. I highly recommend taking lessons from Yuri Liberzon no matter what your classical guitar background is. His musical wisdom is enough to make him a solid teacher but his ability to understand when to shower his knowledge and when to take a step back is what makes him an exceptional teacher. read more